(Puerto Rico 2, Atlanta 4)
1-0 min. 23 Fernando Zuleta (P. Rico)
1-1 min. 30 Fabian Dawkins (Atlanta)
1-2 min. 56 Gary Brooks (Atlanta)
2-2 min. 82 Fernando Zuleta (P. Rico, PK)
2-3 min. 88 Rodrigo Rios (Atlanta)
2-4 min. 95 Fabian Dawkins (Atlanta)
Bayamón, PR - The Puerto Rico Islanders suffered a 4-2 loss at the hands of the Atlanta Silverbacks in a Friday Night USL-1 match-up at Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium in front of an announced crowd of 4,507.
Puerto Rico almost came away with a tie despite playing an entire half a man down, but the Silverbacks took the game in the final minutes of play.
Both teams played entertaining, well executed soccer. Gary Brooks was a star for the Silverbacks as he constantly threatened the goal defended by Dan Kennedy of the Islanders. Puerto Rico also showed offensive prowess from the start, and in the 23rd minute the Islanders struck gold first. Noah Delgado perfectly executed a foul kick from the right side of the field, getting the ball into the box where Fernando Zuleta headed it cleanly into the nets form close range.
Atlanta immediately responded with its deadliest weapon: the counterattack. On one of those, in the 30th minute, Fabian Dawkins broke away from the home team's defense and zipped the ball past Kennedy and into goal for the 1-1 tie.
Petter Villegas of the Islanders then had two chances to put up the 2-1 lead on the scoreboard, but both attempts failed. The first half ended on a sour note for the Islanders as midfielder Alejandro González got ejected on a direct red card in the 44th minute.
Puerto Rico kept playing their usual type of game despite being a man down and did not hesitate in attacking. Atlanta kept waiting and waiting until they could break in and they did so in the 56th minute. Another swift counterattack ended with Gary Brooks giving Atlanta the lead with an assist from Dawkins.
The Islanders were not discouraged and battled on.
In the 82nd minute Alberto Pérez Delgado was taken down inside the penalty box as he worked his way forward. Fernando Zuleta would take the penalty kick… three times. The first two attempts were nullified when Islander players entered the box before the penalty kick. On the third, Zuleta scored and it counted.
Puerto Rico had the one point at hand, but Atlanta reacted, scoring two goals in the final seven minutes. Rodrigo Rios gave the Silverbacks the 3-2 lead in the 88th minute on a shot from just outside the box, and Dawkins sealed the deal five minutes into stoppage time on an empty-netter.
The Islanders will next travel to Charleston, South Carolina, where they will face the Battery next Friday, July 22. They then move on to Atlanta to face the Silverbacks again on the 24th.
